The present invention is directed to monitoring systems and, more particularly, to a voluntary system for monitoring the whereabouts of an individual anywhere on the globe.
It is often desirable for an individual to leave a confidential trail of their whereabouts. As an example, a business traveler may visit locations that are remote or dangerous. It is therefore desirable that the traveler have the ability to routinely report his or her location to a facility that has confidential knowledge of the traveler's whereabouts. It is further desirable that the traveler be able to inform, confidentially, the facility of an emergency. Moreover, when the traveler has not reported his location or well-being within a predetermined time interval, it is desirable that the appropriate authorities, agencies, and/or the traveler's selected persons of responsibility he automatically notified.
Similarly, for example, a college student may desire to maintain a confidential trail of their whereabouts. The student may desire a private system into which they routinely report their whereabouts or well-being and, if the occasion arises, inform the system of an emergency. The system provides appropriate notification when the student has not reported in for a pre-identified interval and cannot be contacted by it In this event, notification is made to selected persons of responsibility. In this event, notification is provided when the student has not reported in and cannot be contacted.
It is also desirable for the system to provide for an emergency mechanism. That is, if the person updating their trail believes he/she is in danger, that person can notify the system and a prearranged emergency response is then activated.
Known systems for tracking the location of an individual are typically limited to an enclosed environment, such as a room or a building, and are not directed to an individual maintaining a confidential trail of their whereabouts and/or well-being at a remote location which may be anywhere on the globe. The known systems often require the individual to wear or carry a portable unit which sends signals to a monitoring device and are thus useless if the individual loses, sheds or forgets to carry the unit. The known systems are also not typically voluntarily used by the individual being tracked. Moreover, the known systems often do not take advantage of existing communications networks, such as the public switched telephone network, satellite or cellular telephone networks or the Internet. Additional, the known systems do not typically provide for automatic notification after the individual has not been heard from for preestablished interval.
It is therefore desirable to provide a system by which an individual reports his or her location and well-being anywhere on the globe to a central facility using standard or dedicated communication networks and by which the individual may report an emergency. It is further desirable that the system be able to contact appropriate authorities or the individual's selected person when the individual has not reported his or her location or well-being within a predetermined interval.